Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer from Playdead, and the measured data for the Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 shows a configuration that is heavily reliant on graphics settings to achieve playable frame rates. The dataset covers 4K, 1440p, and 1080p across Low, Medium, High, and Ultra presets, revealing a clear performance hierarchy driven almost entirely by the GPU. The combination ranks 1603 out of 1671 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower percentile of systems, yet the results show that a smooth experience is within reach at lower resolutions and presets.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and consistent across all settings, pointing squarely at the AMD Radeon RX 570 as the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 138.2 at 1920x1080 to 96.7 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 41.5 FPS, and then plummets to 58.9 at 3840x2160. This represents a 57.4% loss in performance from 1080p to 4K at the lowest preset, which is a massive hit that indicates the GPU is being saturated by pixel count. The trend is similar at Medium settings, where the average drops from 106.1 at 1080p to 79.8 at 1440p and then to 50.2 at 4K. The delta between 1440p and 4K is consistently larger than the delta between 1080p and 1440p, showing that the jump to 4K imposes a disproportionate load on the Polaris 20 chip.

At High settings, the scaling is even more punishing. The average FPS goes from 67.2 at 1080p to 51.7 at 1440p, a 15.5 FPS loss, and then to 29.6 at 4K, which is a 22.1 FPS drop from 1440p. This results in a 4K High average that is less than half of the 1080p High average, confirming that 4K is not a viable target for this configuration beyond the Low preset. The Ultra preset shows the same pattern: 62.1 FPS at 1080p, 43.9 at 1440p, and 26.6 at 4K. The data suggests that resolution scaling is nearly linear with pixel count, and the GPU’s 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 4 GB GDDR5 buffer are insufficient to maintain high frame rates as the resolution increases. The CPU, with 10 cores and 16 threads, is not the bottleneck here; otherwise, the scaling would be flatter across resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. In this game, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate scaling with resolution changes. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively constant regardless of resolution, but the data shows a clear decline as resolution increases. The processor’s benchmark scores are strong: it achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21914 and a single-core score of 3093, placing it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-12800H with an average score of 32513 and a delta of 0%, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 with a score of 32446 and a delta of 0.2%, indicating that the i5-14400F is competitive with mobile and desktop parts from other generations.

For a game like Inside, which is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer with relatively modest physics and AI demands, the CPU’s single-thread performance is more important than its multicore capability. The PassMark single-thread score of 3723 and the Geekbench single-core score of 2333 suggest that the processor can handle the game’s logic without issue. The L3 cache is 20 MB shared, which is ample for a game of this scope. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 138.2 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors, and even at 1440p Low, it hits 96.7 FPS. These numbers would not be possible if the CPU were causing a bottleneck, as the GPU would be waiting on the processor to issue draw calls. The CPU’s 65 W TDP and lack of integrated graphics mean it is a dedicated gaming part, and its performance in this title is more than sufficient, leaving the GPU as the clear constraint.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the dominant factor in determining frame rates across all tested settings. This GPU is based on the Polaris 20 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz. The memory subsystem consists of 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s benchmark scores are modest: it scores 880 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 44915 in Geekbench Metal, 32084 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 42752 in Geekbench Vulkan. It ranks in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 with an average score of 30109 and a delta of 0.2%, and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT with a score of 30097 and a delta of 0.2%. This indicates that while the RX 570 is not a high-end part, it is not entirely outclassed by newer mainstream GPUs in raw compute.

In Inside, the GPU’s limitations are exposed at higher settings and resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 26.6, which is barely playable, while at 4K High, it is 29.6. The 4 GB VRAM is likely a significant constraint at 4K, as the game’s texture and shader data may exceed the buffer, causing the GPU to rely on slower memory transfers. At 1080p, the GPU is more comfortable, with Ultra hitting 62.1 FPS and High at 67.2 FPS, but the jump to Medium brings 106.1 FPS and Low reaches 138.2 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium at 1080p is 32.1 FPS, which is a large gap that suggests the Medium preset introduces effects that heavily tax the GPU. The pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s and texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s are not sufficient for high-resolution rendering, and the FP32 performance of 5.095 TFLOPS is the ceiling for this card. The data indicates that the GPU is the sole bottleneck, as reducing resolution or settings yields proportional increases in FPS, which would not happen if the CPU were limiting.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive picture of performance across all combinations. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the system delivers 138.2 FPS on Low, 106.1 on Medium, 67.2 on High, and 62.1 on Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium is 32.1 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 5.1 FPS, suggesting that the High to Ultra transition is less demanding than the Medium to High transition. At 2560x1440, the averages are 96.7 on Low, 79.8 on Medium, 51.7 on High, and 43.9 on Ultra. The delta between Low and Medium narrows to 16.9 FPS, while the High to Ultra gap remains relatively small at 7.8 FPS. At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 58.9 on Low, 50.2 on Medium, 29.6 on High, and 26.6 on Ultra. The Low to Medium gap at 4K is 8.7 FPS, and the High to Ultra gap is only 3.0 FPS, indicating that the GPU is so saturated at this resolution that preset changes have diminishing returns.

The data shows that the Low preset is the only viable option for 4K, with 58.9 FPS, while Medium at 4K is borderline at 50.2 FPS. At 1440p, the Medium preset provides 79.8 FPS, which is smooth, and High at 51.7 FPS is playable but not ideal. At 1080p, all presets are playable, with Ultra at 62.1 FPS being the minimum for a consistent experience. The 1080p Low result of 138.2 FPS is the highest measured in the dataset, indicating that the system is capable of very high frame rates when the GPU load is minimized. The 4K Ultra result of 26.6 FPS is the lowest, showing the extreme end of the performance spectrum. There are no min or max FPS values in the data, so the analysis relies solely on averages, which are consistent and show a clear trend of decreasing performance with increasing resolution and settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to run Inside at with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the best resolution, as it delivers 138.2 FPS on Low and 106.1 on Medium, which are both well above 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset provides 79.8 FPS, which is also smooth, but 3840x2160 only achieves 58.9 FPS on Low, making 4K less desirable.

Q: Can this system handle Inside at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which yields an average of 58.9 FPS. Medium at 4K drops to 50.2 FPS, while High and Ultra are below 30 FPS at 29.6 and 26.6, respectively, making them unplayable.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32508, placing it in the 88th percentile. It is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-12800H, which has a score of 32513 and a delta of 0%, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645, which has a score of 32446 and a delta of 0.2%.

Q: Is the GPU the main bottleneck in this configuration?

A: Yes, the data indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 570 is the limiting factor. The frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases, which would not happen if the CPU were the bottleneck. The GPU’s 4 GB VRAM and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for high-resolution rendering.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 138.2 FPS, while Ultra averages 62.1 FPS. This is a difference of 76.1 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset imposes a substantial load on the GPU.

Q: How does the GPU rank among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks in the 74th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 with an average score of 30109 and a delta of 0.2%, and the NVIDIA Tesla M60 with a score of 29969 and a delta of 0.6%.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows reveal that the Low preset is the safest choice for maintaining high frame rates across all resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 138.2 FPS, which is far above the 60 FPS target, and at 1440p Low, it still delivers 96.7 FPS. Even at 4K Low, the average of 58.9 FPS is acceptable for a puzzle platformer, though it is close to the edge of playability. The Medium preset is a reasonable upgrade for users with 1080p or 1440p monitors, as it provides 106.1 FPS at 1080p and 79.8 FPS at 1440p, both of which are smooth. However, Medium at 4K drops to 50.2 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold, so Low is recommended for 4K. The High preset is only recommended for 1080p, where it achieves 67.2 FPS, but at 1440p it falls to 51.7 FPS, and at 4K it is 29.6 FPS, making it unsuitable for those resolutions. The Ultra preset should be avoided at all resolutions above 1080p, as it only reaches 62.1 FPS at 1080p, 43.9 at 1440p, and 26.6 at 4K. For the best experience, the data suggests using Low at 4K, Medium at 1440p, and High or Medium at 1080p, depending on whether visual fidelity or frame rate is prioritized. The 1080p Medium setting offers a balanced trade-off, delivering 106.1 FPS while retaining some graphical enhancements over Low.